I have to laugh at the notion that the Kristen/Eric thing somehow "ruined" the character. No, it didn't. Firstly, it is exactly something Kristen would do. And as has been said multiple times, these characters have done far worse things and at equally bad things, and still have continued on with the show for multiple years (EJ, Nicole, Sami, Victor, Stefano, Tony/Andre, etc.) So yeah, I'm gonna say it doesn't matter. And had ED stayed, they would have surely been able to let go of the storyline at some point. I do think ED was shocked when she first learned about the Eric thing (she actually said as much on her Twitter page) but I do not believe that's the reason why she quit.

By saying it "did unnecessary harm to the character" I definitely didn't mean the s/l made the character irredeemable or that it was written into the corner or ruined to no point of return :). At least not in my eyes. The character was and is viable after all that. However, I think the s/l didn't make much sense and wasn't that much compelling or dramatic for that matter and they easily could have gone "milder" and more "human" with all that.